Richard Tillman, the younger brother of the late NFL star Pat Tillman, pleaded guilty Monday in federal court to charges of arson in a devastating fire last year that destroyed a San Jose post office, federal officials said.
Tillman, 44, admitted in court to intentionally setting the July fire at the Almaden Valley post office on Crown Boulevard “to make a point to the U.S. government,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California.
Prosecutors said Tillman purchased firelogs and lighter fluid to prepare for the arson and then drove to the office on an early July morning last summer. Tillman backed up his car to the building’s front door, got out and then spread lighter fluid throughout the vehicle, according to authorities.
Tillman then lit a match, ignited a fire and fled. The blaze quickly spread to the post office, totally destroying the lobby, according to authorities. Dozens of firefighters worked to put the fire out by about 4:30 a.m. No injuries were reported, according to the fire department.
The incident led to the temporary closure of the post office, and while restoration is planned, there’s no set timeline for when it will reopen. Postal services have been relocated to the Willow Glen location since then, about a 30-minute drive for Almaden residents.
Tillman was arrested at the scene of the arson and initially booked into the Santa Clara County jail before he was charged in federal court by a grand jury in August on one count of malicious destruction of government property by fire.
The case drew early public attention because Tillman is the brother of Pat Tillman, a Fremont-born NFL player who became famous for leaving the Arizona Cardinals to enlist in the U.S. Army following the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Tillman was killed during a chaotic firefight in Afghanistan in 2004, and it was later tragically revealed that he’d been killed by friendly fire.
Following his brother’s death, Richard Tillman became publicly critical of the military and U.S. government’s account of the events, and he later pursued a career in acting, stand-up and even wrote a children’s book series. The Chronicle previously reported that Tillman had been personally unraveling in the days before he set the fire.
Tillman is in federal custody and will be sentenced by Judge Edward J. Davila on April 27. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison, with a maximum of 20 years, along with a potential fine of up to $250,000.
This article originally published at Pat Tillman’s brother charged in San Jose post office arson.